All Forum Posts by: Ashley Wolfe

I talked to another motivated seller who owns a 3/2 mobile home in near me. They did much of the renovations themselves over the last four years of ownership. Its been on the market since June. They had to drop the price in August to $20K. They already moved away and are willing to come down on the price. I need to go see it first, but we are thinking of offering $10K and if they counter with $12K, we'll take it. Lot rent is $375/month so we could charge up to $995/month and make $620/month in passive income if all those numbers work out. And this is pretty much a turn-key situation.

I like the sound of this one too.  So, for my first deal, I'm doing three. HAZAAAAAAAH!

 Ok, that makes sense.  I will inquire about the title, I didn't even think of that.  So, after the bill of sale is complete and money is exchanged, that is that?

How do I go about paying the ~$600 in taxes that is owed on the property?  Would that be my county's appraisal district or county tax assessor?

Also, I did find an investment firm operating out of LA that owns some of the homes in the same park.  I'm thinking this is who I would contact in order to wholesale them the properties. 

I'm chomping at the bit to do a flip and feel like starting small in a mobile home park would be a great place to start.  However, I know that it could turn into a headache that costs us more money. 

I know that, logically, wholesaling this $4000 property is probably my wisest choice.  I also want to look into the $17,500 property that is a 3/2, not on the market yet.

Also, let's say that I talk the seller down to $1500 and I get the home under contract. I know that it could potentially need $5000-$7000 worth of work but the ARV can be as much as $25,000 based on the neighboring homes. What would be an appropriate wholesaler's fee if I got it under contract for $1500?

There's a little voice inside my head saying, "Do the rehab work and sell it for so much more than a wholesale fee!"  This is really what I want to do but I don't know if I'm ready.  However, I keep hearing on all these podcasts and reading in all these books to just get your first deal done because, if you don't, you never will! 

What should I do?

I'm going to be talking to the owner of this and a 3/2 home in the same area, neither of which are on the market yet.  If I'm not operating with an agent, how do I get the property under contract?  Is this when I need a real estate atty to draw up contracts and paperwork?  Do the seller and I agree to the price, then I get it under contract at that price?

Along with this conversation, are there certain contracts to use with mobile homes?  I'm not an agent and don't plan on using one for the transaction I'm thinking of making in the next couple of weeks.  The mobile home is not on the market and I'll be paying cash.

This may be my first deal so I'm going to give you some of the details.  I'd love to know what you think.

I called about a mobile home I saw for sale on Zillow.  In talking to the mobile home community manager, she told me that the home I was calling about had sold just today but there were some other ones that she new the owners were wanting to sell.

One home is a double-wide 3/2 for $17,500 and is not on the market.

The other home is a single-wide 2/1 for $4,000 with ~$600 owed in back taxes with no lien, needing a new AC (and I'm in Texas so that's a big deal), plus other updates.  Its basically the ugliest home on the block.

The updated double-wide I called about that sold for $35,000 is caddy corner to this $4,000 home.

The manager told me that comps in the same community rent out for ~$750-$850/month with a $405/month lot rent included in that estimate.

The community looked very nice, its in a nice part of town and the manager spoke very highly of her residents.

Here are my current options, as I see them:

1) Wholesale to an investor

2) Buy, rehab, sell (we're open to seller financing)

3) Buy, rehab, rent (our least favorite option)

I think that the wholesaling option would be the easiest for me because this is my first deal.  I really do want to see this home rehabbed though.  I hesitate because I don't know how excited an investor/rehabber would be about a mobile home, but I don't know until I ask.

In my negotiations, my MAO would be $3,400 to start because of the $600 in taxes due. I know this home needs lots of work and I haven't been inside. So I don't really know how to even begin to estimate the repairs needed. However, if the rent is projected to be $750/month minus $405/month lot rent that would equal $345. This would give me a projected ARV of anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000. So, the profit margin seems to be pretty good. However, we would still owe $405 each month, regardless of owning the home outright. That's a lot of overhead for my family but we could pull it off.

I have my script ready for when I call the seller (who speaks only Spanish by the way, but I have a friend who is ready and willing to make the call and take notes for me).

What are your thoughts?  Am I going about this deal the right way?  Is there anything I'm missing or not privy to?

Great comparisons.  I like how you give me two different scenarios that you are comfortable working with as a GC.

 I know there are a million ways to skin a cat.  I also know that people come out of the woodwork to not only give their perspective but to also help shed light on the subject in a way that helps a situation be seen from different ways, with different details and potential.  Thanks for making your first post within this thread.

Ashley Wolfe

I'm looking for this podcast and only see episodes dating back to this October.  Are there more episodes outside of iTunes?  Also, when did you go to this seminar in Houston?  I'm in DFW and grew up in Houston so, if this seminar is worth it's weight in gold, I'll consider paying to go to the next one.  Thanks!

Thank you Blake.  This helps me see some other options and a more detailed view of the breakdown before the 50/50 split.  Who pays closing costs in the above scenario?